


Anchors In The Orchard

by Walsingham



Category: Torchwood
Genre: M/M, Mpreg, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-07-23
Updated: 2014-12-05
Packaged: 2017-11-10 12:50:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 3,879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/466489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Walsingham/pseuds/Walsingham
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ianto's pregnant!<br/>But this is Torchwood, something has to go wrong.<br/> </p><p>Each chapter title is the name of a song (including the title of the complete work), for lack of a better name, and has no bearing on the contents of the chapter.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Come To Me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SweetSourInsanity](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SweetSourInsanity/gifts).



> Just a very short chapter to start the story off. The next chapter'll be longer, promise!  
> I will upload as I write, so the time between each upload will vary.

   Ianto knocked gently on the door of Jack's office, one hand hovering over his stomach, almost protectively. Without looking up, Jack beckoned him in. Ianto stood awkwardly beside Jack's desk, not trusting himself to speak.

   "What's up, Ianto?" Jack asked, still not looking up from a case report.

   "O-Owen found something on the sc-scanner," Ianto replied, tripping over his words. Finally, Jack looked up at Ianto, hearing the worry in his voice. Jack signalled for him to sit in a chair beside him. Ianto sat down and looked at his hands.

   "What's he found?" Jack asked quietly, turning to look at him. Ianto pulled his eyes away from his hands and looked up at Jack.

   "Jack, I'm pregnant," he whispered.


	2. Foot Stomp

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ianto has just told Jack of his pregnancy, and is waiting for his reaction, before he tells the rest of the team.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, a longer chapter. I already had this written with the first chapter, so I thought I'd upload it straight after, before I forgot.

   "What?" Jack said, staring at Ianto, who was back to looking at his hands.

   "Pregnant," Ianto whispered, linking and unlinking his hands.

   "Ianto, that's-that's wonderful!" Jack cried, grabbing Ianto's twitching hands and bringing them to his lips. Ianto's head snapped up, a look of complete and utter confusion on his face.

   "You're happy about this? But Jack, I'm a _man_ , and men can't get pregnant!" Ianto said. He was clearly worried, but the corners of his mouth twitched up in a small smile.

   "We'll figure that one out in time, but first things first, is it mine?" Jack said, leaning in. Ianto ducked his head in a nod. There was a moment of silence, then Jack let out a laugh of joy, and stood up, pulling Ianto up with him. They stood like that, looking into each others shining eyes, for a few minutes before Ianto's mind properly clocked that Jack didn't seem to think that this was a terrible thing, and he pulled Jack into a hug, burying his face into the older mans chest.

   "Does anyone else know?" Jack asked, not breaking their embrace. Ianto looked up at him before replying, so his voice wouldn't get lost into his chest.

   "Only Owen, and I made him promise not to tell. I wanted to see what your reaction was to possible parenthood before I told anyone else," he replied. Jack pulled back from him, resting his hands on Ianto's shoulders and looked into his eyes.

   "If you're happy, I'm happy. Now, spread the news!" Jack said, turning the young man around and guiding him out of his office onto the walkway above where the team were working at their various stations. Owen was scribbling something down on a clipboard in the medical bay, Toshiko was staring at her computer screen, looking for spikes in the rift activity, and Gwen was sitting at another computer, tying up loose ends from the last alien hunt. Ianto looked down at them. Jack stood beside him and wrapped an arm around his waist. Usually, Ianto would be adverse to most Public Displays of Affection, but today, he really didn't care.

   "You lot," he called down to the rest of the team, who turned away from whatever they were doing and looked up at him, all with questioning gazes, except Owen, whose look was more knowing and smug. "I'm pregnant, with Jack!"

   "Oh, that's brilliant!" Tosh said, jumping up and down and clapping in her excitement.

   "Well done, mate!" Owen said, actually smiling properly now.

   All Gwen did was smile a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

   "Something wrong, Gwen?" Jack asked, his voice cold and hard. Gwen exploded.

   "Where does that put you and me, Jack? Where does that leave us?" she yelled. Ianto, Owen and Tosh froze, waiting for Jack's response.

   "Us! _Us!_ Gwen, there was no 'us'! This," Jack yelled, gesturing violently between Gwen and himself, "was never happening!"

   "Jack, I told you I love you, for God's sake! You knew how I felt, but you still choose _him_ over _me_?" Gwen shouted, her Welsh accent thickening with each word.

   "You know what Gwen? Fuck you," Ianto spat at her. "You have Rhys, and you should be fucking happy he can't see the real you, because he wouldn't stick around much longer if he did!" At this, Ianto turned on his heel, and disappeared back into Jack's office.

   "Get out, Gwen. Get out, and don't come back until you've shown Rhys who you _really_ are. You'll only get what you deserve," Jack said, his voice bitter, before following Ianto into his office and closing the door behind him. Gwen didn't move, just stared open-mouthed where he had just been standing. Tosh was the first to say anything.

   "I think you'd better leave," she said, not looking at Gwen. Gwen turned on her, glaring. Owen stepped out of the medical bay and up behind Tosh, and Gwen flicked her icy gaze to him.

    _If looks could kill,_ Owen thought to himself. Gwen's eyes narrowed, as if she could read his mind. Then she turned around and strode out of the Hub.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos + concrit always welcome!  
> xxx


	3. Give Whatever You Got

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a short one! I have so much other stuff on at the moment, I'm afraid.

   As Gwen disappeared, Owen saw Tosh visibly relax, her shoulders slumping. He knew she didn't like conflict, especially among her friends. The Hub was quiet as Tosh and Owen slowly returned to their work stations.

***

   Gwen found herself sitting at a table outside a café, a cup of coffee in her hand. She swallowed the bitter liquid down, refusing to acknowledge that, compared to Ianto's coffee, it tasted like piss.

   Wrapped up in her thoughts, she didn't notice a man sliding into a chair opposite her until he spoke.

   "Something troubling you?" he said, his oily voice making Gwen start. She glared at him.

   "Yeah. Can you do something about it?" she said, her voice full of disdain. She took in his appearance with raised eyebrows. His black suit was crisp and clean, and his dark hair was neat, but his eyes made Gwen feel… unsettled. Icy-blue, and with no pupil. _Alien_ , she thought.

   "As a matter of fact, I can," he said.

   "Oh?"

   "Sven Lighgar," he said, extending his hand.

   "Gwen Cooper," she said, accepting the handshake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can't promise the next one'll be up any time soon.  
> Thanks for reading!  
> xxx


	4. The Introduction Of The Litter Bug

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhys confronts Gwen. Mostly dialogue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that the updates are so s l o w. And I'm afraid they will probably continue to be so. I'm not used to writing much more than simple one-shots.

   When Gwen walked through the door of her flat, she could tell that something was wrong. She could see Rhys sitting on the couch, when he should still be at work. And he wasn't home to watch the cricket or football or whatever; the television was off, and he hadn't told her about a match that morning.

   "You're home early," she called out, trying to sound cheery as she hung her keys on a hook.

   "I got a call on my mobile today," Rhys said, not looking at her as she walked past him into the kitchen.

   "Oh yeah?"

   "From Jack."

   "Oh."

   "Mind telling me what's going on, Gwen?"

   "It's nothing. Honestly."

   "Jack said that you're confused."

   "I fight aliens for a living, Rhys. Of course I get confused occasionally. That's nothing to get worked up about."

   "He was talking about your feelings. Towards me."

   "Nothing is going on. You know I love you."

   "Bloody hell, Gwen!" Rhys yelled, standing up and walking towards her. "I _saw_ you! I was going out to buy lunch, and I _saw_ you with some bloke at a cafe. You're always telling me to trust you, and then you never tell me anything!"

   Gwen went to walk past him into their bedroom to change, but he grabbed her arm.

   "Jesus, Rhys! I've had a really shit day at work, can we not talk about this now?" Gwen yelled back, pulling her arm out of his grip.

   "No, Gwen. We can't, because you never _want_ to talk about it. We're married, for God's sake! If we can't do that, we can't do anything!"

   "You just need to give me time," Gwen replied, her voice calm, "and to trust me."

   "Get out."

   "What?"

   "You heard me. Get out!"

   Gwen picked up her bag and reached for the keys on the hook, but Rhys shook his head.

   "Then where am I going to sleep tonight?" Gwen cried.

   "At the bloke's place I saw you with at the cafe, at Jack's, I don't care. Just go," Rhys said, taking the keys out of her reach.

   "Fine then," she said, opening the door and stepping over the threshold.There was a moment of silence before she slammed the door behind her. rhys used her keys to lock the door behind her, before replacing them on their hook. He returned to the couch, where he dug his mobile out of his pocket to send a text to Jack.

   _You were right. Thank you._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for sticking with this so far. I'm just flying by the seat of my pants, now.


	5. Knew Before Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I haven't updated in AGES. Been busy with... stuff.

 

   Ianto woke up suddenly, sweat plastering his hair to his forehead. Beside him, Jack stirred and turned over to look at him.

   "Ianto, sweetie, what's wrong?" Jack asked, sitting up and stroking Ianto's cheek gently.

   "Umm, Jack, this might sound odd, but...men aren't exactly born with natural birthing abilities," Ianto replied, his cheeks growing red. Jack went silent, thinking. He obviously hadn't realised this either.

   After a moment, he spoke again.

   "Ianto, don't worry! Remember that alien-device-thingy that Owen has that Rhys used on Gwen? We'll just have Owen practice a bit more, and it'll be fine!"

   "Do you also remember that Owen isn't perhaps the most careful person? Hello, Skypoint?"

   Jack nodded understandingly.

   "Alright then, Ianto. I'll do it. You trust me, don't you?"

   "Of course I do! Are you sure you want to do it, though? I mean, we could just abort, if you know what I mean?"

   "I do want to go through with it! Ianto, you're my everything. If there's anyone I would want to have a family with, it'd be you. Don't be nervous, I'll be there the whole time," Jack said. He pulled Ianto closer to him and tucked the younger man under his chin.

   "I love you."

* * *

   Roused from her sleep by someone knocking on her front door, Tosh rubbed sleep out of her eyes. She wrapped her dressing gown around herself and padded over to the door. She looked through the peephole and, seeing Gwen on the other side, opened the door tentatively.

   "Gwen," Tosh said, not coldly, but not particularly friendly either. Gwen didn't meet her eyes, but Tosh could see she'd been crying. Sighing, she opened the door wider.

   "Come in. I'm guessing Rhys kicked you out?" Gwen nodded. Tosh led her into the living room and indicated the lounge. "Set yourself up there. I'll get you a pillow and blankets."

   She left Gwen alone and went to the airing cupboard, pulling out what she needed. Going back to Gwen, she dumped them unceremoniously on the couch beside the other woman.

   "I'm going back to bed. Goodnight, Gwen," Tosh said, turning away.

   "Goodnight Tosh, and thank you," Gwen replied quietly. Tosh sighed again and left.

   As Tosh slept, Gwen pulled out her phone and sifted through the contacts list, looking for a name. Pressing 'call', she put the phone to her ear.

   "Sven? Hello, it's Gwen. I think it's time we dealt with Ianto."


	6. My Tummy Hurts

   When Tosh got up the next morning, Gwen had left already, leaving her pillow on top of the folded sheets she'd used that night. A note lay on top of the coffee table.

_Thank you Tosh. Sorry I woke you last night, I know you don't particularly like me at the moment. None of you do._

_Goodbye,_

_Gwen_

   Feeling slightly guilty, Tosh scrunched up the letter and threw it in the cold fireplace as kindling for the chilly night. Ignoring the slightly nauseous feeling in her stomach, Tosh continued getting ready for work.

* * *

   The moment Ianto woke up he knew something was wrong. He couldn't feel Jack's warm body beside him. What he could feel was the cold of a cement floor leaking through a thin sheet wrapped around him. All he wore under the sheet were his pyjama pants. He sat up and looked around the dark room wildly

   "Hello?" Ianto called out hesitantly. A man stepped out of the shadows to his right. Briefly, Ianto admired the man's neat black suit, but then his eyes travelled up to his stark blue, pupil-less eyes, and his breath caught in his throat.

   "Hello, Ianto Jones. My name is Sven Lighgar. I am the father of the alien living inside you, and it's time he was born."


	7. Oh Well

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And now, we wait.

   Ianto scrambled away, abandoning the sheet around his shoulders.

   "You did this to me? B-but Owen's scanners said it was Jack's?" Ianto said, both scared and confused. Sven laughed.

   "It is, in some ways. Jack Harkness was the original host, but by the time I found that he wasn't entirely human, he had passed it onto you. My my, you humans do have disgusting ways don't you?" Sven raised an eyebrow too perfect to be real at Ianto disdainfully.

    _Great_ , Ianto couldn't help but think, _Alien and a homophobe_.

   The alien's inhuman eyes narrowed at Ianto, as if he could hear what he was thinking. Which was perfectly acceptable; Ianto had met aliens who could do weirder things than that. Ianto's sudden nonchalance might also be getting his attention. Thoughts like that were his way of distancing himself from things, he threw up his sarcasm as a barrier, but was careful not to let it out, not knowing how people or things would react to it. He had been 'engineering' the barrier since Lisa. He didn't want to keep getting hurt like that. Physically hurt, he could deal with unless it was fatal. Psychologically or mentally hurt, it was harder.

   Sven pondered the man for moment longer, sensing a change in his state of mind, but ignored it and turned away, walking to the back of the room. He faced Ianto again and leant against the wall, saying nothing, as if he was waiting. He barely blinked as he watched the young man, who was suddenly acutely aware that he was shirtless, and that the stretched skin over his bulging belly was Sven's point of focus. He searched around him for the sheets that had covered his shoulders earlier before pulling them over himself, allowing the only bare skin to be seen to be from his neck up.

   Ianto could guess what he was waiting for, and he had a horrible suspicion that it would not be pretty or painless for him, but he was determined not to let the fear that was eating into him show on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It seems I'm sticking with shorter chapters for now, so I can get them written and up to you as soon as I can! Sorry I've been neglecting you, I hadn't realised how long it had been since I last updated.  
> Thanks to those who have stuck with it so far!  
> xxx


	8. Seesaw

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's D-Day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I'm letting you down now, by not leaving the customary few months in between chapters!

   "I should have known that something wasn't right. I did know it, but I was blinded by something too good to be true!" Jack yelled as he stormed into the Hub, his distinctive American accent cutting over the alarms that rang as the heavy door closed behind him. Tosh and Owen were waiting for him cautiously on one of the walkways above, watching him. Jack ran up the metal stairs onto the walkway to stand beside them, pulling off his grey army coat as he did. He hung it on the railing and leant his elbows on top of it, running his hands through his hair in frustration. He felt an angry growl rumble in his throat, like a savage animal readying for a fight. After a moment, he tried to regain his composure and turned to his colleagues. They looked vaguely frightened, and tired due to the early hour Jack had called them in as soon as he found Ianto missing, but alert and ready to help.

   "How do you know he's been taken? How do you know he just didn't go for a walk, or something?" Owen asked, stepping forward tentatively. Jack breathed deeply before he answered.

   "Firstly, he wouldn't do that. He just wouldn't. Secondly, I was doing some routine surveillance after that spike in Rift activity that we had last week, and I found something," Without another word, Jack grabbed his coat and went back down the stairs, expecting Owen and Tosh to follow him unquestioningly to the boardroom.

   Tosh and Owen sat in their usual seats opposite each other and Jack stood at the end of the table, facing the screen, flicking the buttons on the remote to find what he needed it to display. They were all acutely aware of Gwen and Ianto's empty seats, the lack of the almost-constant smell of brewing coffee making them more so of Ianto's. Jack grumbled at the remote until he finally found what he was looking for, and stood back so that Tosh and Owen could have a clear view of the screen. The screen displayed CCTV footage of a bustling café that they both recognised as local. The time stamp on the footage read 9am, and the date was for yesterday. Jack fast-forwarded it until the time stamp read just after midday, and a familiar figure with long black hair had bought a coffee and sat, her back to the camera, at one of the outside tables.

   "Gwen Cooper, formerly of Torchwood," Jack said, breaking the silence as he paused the frame. His voice was cold and sharp, his eyes narrowed.

   "Okay, but what has she got to do with it? The Rift spike was several days before this was recorded and… all that stuff happened," Owen asked, choosing his words carefully. Jack didn't answer, pressing 'play' on the remote instead. They kept watching as a tall, thin man slid into the seat opposite her and began talking, his face obscured by Gwen's head. Gwen wasn't acting as if she had been expecting him, as far as they could tell, but she shifted as they leant forward to shake hands, finally revealing the mystery man's face to the camera. Jack paused the footage again and set the remote on the table.

   "Nope, still not getting it. Is he alien?" Owen said, looking away from the screen and up at Jack, vaguely annoyed as to why he was in less of a hurry than he had been moments before.

   "He doesn't look it on this recording because of the quality, as well as his overall appearance, but yes," Jack said, his voice sounding thin, "I found better footage of him just walking down the street where you can see his face more clearly, and ran it through the database. There was no record of him, no footage at all, until the Rift spike, but he clearly is not very careful about letting himself go unseen, and there was enough footage to identify what he was."

   Picking up the remote again, he changed the screen to show one of their data-files on aliens. A picture in the top, left-hand corner showed a man with similar stature to their alien, but a second picture beside it showed a close-up of his face. His sharp facial structure, pupil-less eyes and pencil-thin eyebrows were the only visible features to identify him as an alien. Jack cleared his throat before talking again.

   "Ianto has been taken by this alien. They are a parasitic species called Homonis, and they come from the planet Derutobia-"

   "But _Derutobia Homonis_ is the scientific name for one of Earth's own insects, the human botfly," Tosh interrupted, confused. Jack nodded.

   "We don't know what they call themselves, so that is the insect we based their name on, due to their similarities with it, specifically regarding the birth of their young," Jack said, watching the horror on Tosh's face as what he was saying dawned on her, but Owen still looked stumped.

   "Sorry, but for the less-nerdy of us in the room, what the bloody hell are you on about?" Owen said, shaking his head slightly.

   " _Derutobia Homonis_ , the human botfly, use humans as hosts. They lay their eggs under the skin, and when the eggs hatch, they eat their way out. This Hominis must have chosen Ianto as a host and, although I don't know how, has implanted it's fertilized eggs into him," Tosh's voice was quiet as she explained it to Owen. The idea of what might happen to Ianto next filled her with dread, and her face paled.

   "But why take him?" Owen asked, understanding but still unsure, "Surely he could have just waited until the thing had been born then come and collect it?"

   "Gwen was extremely bitter about us and Torchwood when he found her, he must have been keeping an eye on us, Ianto specifically, and followed her. She would have told him anything he had wanted to know, enough to make him cautious of us and know what we would have done had we seen what it was and what it would do to Ianto," Jack reasoned, his mouth set in a thin line, "and it's D-Day."

   He strode out of the boardroom. Owen and Tosh glanced at each other before following, feeling sick to their stomachs.


	9. Who Wants To Know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And now, we keep waiting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cor, I'm spoiling you now, eh?

   "Jack, _Jack!_ " Tosh called after their boss, her customary heels clicking on the concrete as she hurried behind him. Jack turned his head without pausing, indicating that he was listening. "Before we go blundering in, do you even know where to _find_ them?"

   "I'm still working on that," he called out behind him. His coat over one arm, he took the metal stairs up to the walkway leading to his office by two. Tosh stood still and watched him go, annoyed at how he was handling this, but knowing that he probably wouldn't be much use anyway. Owen sidled up beside her, hands stuffed into the pockets of his jeans.

   "So," he said, also looking up to where Jack had begun pacing along the glass walls of his office, "how _are_ we going to find them?"

   Tosh shrugged, but pulled her glasses out of a pocket of her white coat and put them on, switching to work mode and pushing the emotions to one side. Her mind began working as soon as she sat down at her bank of computers.

* * *

   The waiting was beginning to get to Ianto as he shivered, his bare back pressing against the cold stone wall behind him. Minutes were passing like hours, and Ianto had no idea how long he had been here, and no idea how longer it would be still. Sven was giving nothing away, and had hardly moved from his place against the opposite wall. His eyes unnervingly never blinked, and bore into Ianto as if he was trying to see his child before it was born. The silence was driving him round the bend, and Ianto had to break it before it broke him.

   "Why don't you just get it over with?" Ianto asked, his voice unsteady. Sven raised his eyes to Ianto's, smiling slightly.

   "I have no control over the matter. My child will be born when he is good and ready," Sven answered, and then shrugged unfeelingly, "or when he's hungry."

   Ianto swallowed nervously, sweat beading on his forehead despite the cool temperature. "H-He?"

   Sven shrugged again. "Or she. I don't know which they will be born, or which they may choose later in life, perhaps even neither, but it's inhuman to call a life 'it', don't you think?"

   "D-Do you have names?" Ianto asked, desperately trying to keep the silence at bay, but his small-talk skills in situations such as this were poor.

   Sven laughed harshly. "None that you'd be able to pronounce, earthling."

   "I'm Welsh; you'd be surprised at what we can pronounce, 'Martian'," Ianto said, trying to build his failing barriers back up.

   Sven raised an eyebrow, vaguely amused. "Come, come, no need to be bolshy. Not long now."

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos + concrit always welcome.  
> xxx


End file.
